


testing, testing, i'm just suggesting, you and i might just be the best thing

by bugabisous (mariafernanda)



Series: this love is a tangled web [7]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette | Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, F/M, IDENTITY SHENANIGANS, it kind of depends in you having read the rest of it to understand what's going on, one-sided reveal, this work is part of series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-25
Updated: 2020-02-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:54:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22891330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mariafernanda/pseuds/bugabisous
Summary: Looking at him now, she wondered how she ever missed it – his feelings for her, which were written on his face plain for her to see now that she knew what to look for, his radiant smile, and the fact that he was Chat Noir.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: this love is a tangled web [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1634344
Comments: 29
Kudos: 243





	testing, testing, i'm just suggesting, you and i might just be the best thing

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from the song Haven't had enough by Marianas Trench.
> 
> That being said, let's just dive right in!

As she walked down the halls to the locker room, she cursed her luck for not allowing her the courtesy of having more than the night to prepare for the day. Her heart was on her throat, beating wildly at the fact that she would see _him_. Even if she had tried to avoid the thoughts and sleep, her mind had kept her awake – running through all the possible scenarios where it could go wrong or where everything could turn out perfect. She thought about it for hours before she made a decision, but she feared that she would change her mind at the slightest of signs even though she _really_ didn’t want to.

She pushed the door open and locked eyes with him almost instantly and she realized that not even an entire year would have prepared her for the intensity of his stare, much less the measly eight hours she had had. Looking at him now, she wondered how she ever missed it – his feelings for her, which were written on his face plain for her to see now that she knew what to look for, his radiant smile, and the fact that he was Chat Noir.

Even if a part of her had been trying to deny it the previous night as she lied awake thinking about him, she felt as if her entire self was standing to attention, caged in the depth of his eyes and unable to resist smiling back at him. _It’s really you._

She felt the door slam against her back, making her tumble, and turned to her right to see that Lila had come in. She pulled her gaze away from her and found Adrien watching her with a concerned frown as he walked towards her; she gave him a reassuring smile, hoping to convey that she wasn’t hurt, and while he seemed to understand what she had silently said he didn’t stop his path towards her.

“Hey, Marinette,” he said, his tone a bit breathless. His shining eyes and awed expression felt as if he had injected a shot of adrenaline into her bloodstream and she grinned back, red coloring her cheeks. His gaze drifted down from her eyes to the blush and he blushed lightly too, his hand coming to scratch his neck. “How was the rest of your day yesterday?”

_Eventful, shocking, exhilarating. Life-changing._

“It was okay,” she replied, carefully, looking into his eyes and searching for the spark of recognition – not knowing if she wanted to find it or not, “even if I had trouble falling asleep.”

He pouted, which was adorable, “What happened? Anything wrong?” he asked, worried. It was an incredible contrast to the joke he had thrown her way when she said nearly the same thing to him during patrol the previous Saturday.

She decided to hit him with her best shot, though, because she had never claimed to be above his flirtations even if his timing was awful most of the time and because she needed to start working on her plan to avoid any white cats destroying her happiness. “I had a lot of my mind, it’s all,” she told him, a wicked smile coming to her lips as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Can I tell you a secret?” she drew closer to him, enjoying the way he seemed to gravitate towards her.

“I’m an excellent secret keeper,” he said, putting his hand up. She could almost hear the _Cat’s honor_ that he didn’t dare add while not suited up.

“I have this friend,” she started, “it’s all very new but…” she trailed off.

His eyebrows rose, “But?”

“I think I might have fallen for him, you know?”

The myriad of emotions that showed in his face was truly astonishing. He went deadly pale with eyes widening and his mouth turned down, before a thoughtful look took over his face, finally settling on a curious look with a bit of a blush painting his cheeks.

“Oh,” he said, “Do I know him?”

She shrugged, “Maybe,” she replied, “I know you two would get along very well, that’s for sure.”

“So he doesn’t go here?” he asked, confused.

“I work with him,” she added, not wanting to lie or lead him to believe she was talking about someone else, “sometimes, like once a week we meet up for work, but it’s always very nice because we also talk a lot and share pastries, plus his jokes can be very funny,” she smirked when he perked up, confident that he had caught up onto the fact that she was talking about Shenron, “when they aren’t completely atrocious, that’s it.”

He looked offended for a moment, before he schooled his expression into something neutral and nodded. “He sounds nice enough, I guess,” he said evenly.

“He’s the best, I think,” she gushed. She figured she owed it to him, after he unknowingly confessed his feelings for her to her, and she enjoyed the way he blushed and ducked his head while trying to maintain a cool demeanor.

“Are you going to tell him?” he asked, the eager tone dripping from his voice even if he had tried to mask it. She imagined that if she hadn’t known he was Shenron she might not have noticed all of that, but she also wouldn’t be in this situation if he had never become Shenron – considering that it had given them an opportunity to grow closer (as Adrien and Marinette, that’s it, as opposed to their nearly psychically linked partnership as Ladybug and Chat Noir) and the fact that she wouldn’t have dared to talk about ‘another’ guy with Adrien if she didn’t know _he_ was the guy.

“I don’t think so. I think I’ll let him make the first move,” she smiled, “I wouldn’t want to scare him off, you know?”

“He’d have to be an idiot to let you go,” he blurted out, then his eyes widened and he snapped his mouth shut with a panicked expression.

She took pity on him and brought a hand to his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze before saying, “I hope he agrees with you, then,” and walking away to her locker, where Alya was waiting and looking at her as if she had grown a second head.

“What was that?” she asked, disbelieving. Marinette, knowing what she needed to do in order to make everything work, just looked at her with a nonplussed expression.

“What do you mean?”

“You were talking to Adrien, super relaxed, and I’m pretty sure I read your lips mentioning _another boy?_ ” she ended the sentence in an alarmed tone.

“Ah,” she nodded, hoping desperately that her poker face was holding up to Alya’s scrutiny, “let’s just say I have decided that it’s time for me to give that _mysterious friend of mine_ a chance, is all.”

She closed the locker door just in time for the sound to drown out Alya’s shrill, “What!?”

It had to be done, though, if she wanted to make it work and avoid some unfortunate consequences. She’d be damned if she let him slip away from her grasp; they deserved to be happy and she was going to make it happen, even if she had to be sneaky about it.

**Author's Note:**

> Now, now. I wasn't about to drown you in angst. I just wanted you to think I would.
> 
> Though this is _not_ the last time the Chat Blanc timeline will be addressed in this universe, fair warning.


End file.
